75 people have drowned in Portugal by August

Seventy-five people have drowned in mainland Portugal as of July 31, the third highest number in the last five years, according to a report from the Drowning Observatory of the Portuguese Lifeguard Federation (FEPONS).

In a statement released this Thursday, FEPONS reported that between January 1 and the last day of July, 75 deaths were recorded, most of them at sea (34).

Twenty-one deaths occurred in a river, seven in a well, four in a dam, two in a ditch, two in a swimming pool, two in a lake, one in a reservoir, one in a septic tank and one in an irrigation canal.

Last year, there were 71 drowning deaths during the same period, 88 in 2022 and 62 in 2021.

In the first half of this year, 62 people died, according to FEPONS, with most of the drownings occurring at sea (27), followed by rivers (20), wells (seven), dams (three), a ditch (two), a lake (two) and one in a ditch.

According to the report, the majority of those who died from drowning were men (34 years old) aged between 20 and 24 years.

Most cases occurred during recreational sea bathing, fishing, paragliding due to people and vehicles falling into the water for unknown reasons.

The Federation also emphasizes that 100% of drowning cases occurred in uncontrolled and unsupervised places.

In terms of geographical distribution, 17.7% of cases occurred in the districts of Porto and Setúbal, 11.3% in Lisbon, 8.1% in Aveiro and 6.5% in Coimbra, Viana do Castelo and Madeira.

The Federation points out that drowning “has already reached high rates, continuing to be a public health problem in Portugal, as catalogued by the World Health Organization in 2014, at a global level.”

The Drowning Observatory is a system created by the Portuguese Lifeguard Federation to count drowning deaths in Portugal.

Registration is carried out via links to newspaper clippings or their images, which must be sent to any person by e-mail to [email protected] or posted on the observatory’s Facebook page at facebook.com/observatoriodoafogamento.

This year the swimming season began on the 1st of May holiday in the municipality of Cascais and in some places in Madeira.

The bathing season is determined each year by a decree published in the Diário da República, which defines the bathing waters and the corresponding season, given that, until published at national level, the bathing season lasts from May 1 to October 30. Between these dates, municipal councils determine when the bathing season begins and ends in their territory, with some preferring to start earlier and end later.